There's no place like hooooommmmmeee!!

*clicks heels*

What a week. I've started packing for the move. But the realtor is supposed to do an inspection tomorrow, and they are bringing someone through tomorrow afternoon. So, I haven't done a lot of packing because I don't want the place full of boxes for the 'tour'.

And then I thought I would start after we came back from the weekend. We had been summonsed north to celebrate some birthdays. MOTH's mother turned 90. And my father turned 70.

We travelled up Friday night. I had Friday off work, and had toyed with the idea of arriving north on Friday afternoon. But then again, I wasn't sure I really wanted to spend the money. So we left midnight. Gosh I was tired though! I did manage to do a bit of driving. MOTH played with the audible lines. Have you ever done that? They make a noise when you drive over them. They are supposed to let a weary driver know they are wandering. But we like to drive over them just for laughs. But maybe not in future! Something made a noise and started going flubbity flubbity flub. Flapity, flapity.

We pulled into the Matilda, and I decided to hit the stop for foodage. MOTH investigated the noise and decided to check the tyre pressure. Guess what, he says. Something has come loose, and I'm going to have to remove the tyre and pull the broken piece away. Brilliant. I left him to it. Cause I'm generous like that.

As an aside though, I always thought that laundromat was spelled laundromat. It seems I was wrong. This stop spells it laundrAmat. But without the capital. So, there you go.

The rest of the journey went without indcident. MOTH managed to remove the flapping piece of car without having to remove the tyre and all proceeded well.

We arrived early ish in the morning. Too early to check in. Which was midday. So we thought we would take the opportunity to check things out in the district to see if anything had changed.



It hasn't. Except maybe the dam level was a little higher than when we left. The centre at Canoe Point hasn't changed at all. At least, visibly from the carpark. We did spot some wildlife at the meals on wheels building.



Tannum beach is still beachy even. There are way more houses in the background, but the beach itself? Still the same.





We eventually checked in to the caravan park. I was familiar with this park, having visited many times when a sibling lived there. I didn't remember the cabins down the back though. I chose that park because it wasn't too close to any other family members. Shhhhhhh.....



The cabin had two bedrooms. It's own bathroom. A self contained kitchen. And some cable channels. w00t for keeping the Teen and the Elder occupied. Oh, and a bbq mounted on the railing outside. I loved it, and if I'm ever up that way again, I shall be going back. The only shortcoming I suppose was a lip on the shower. MOTH discovered that it was a very good idea to lift your feet when you get out of it. Or you are gonna end up with bruised toes.

We rocked up to the Nan thing just after lunch. And OMFG it was hot! So hot! The setting was under some tarps out on the driveway. A bitumen driveway. They had fans out, but it didn't help. We melted. I think everyone melted. In fact, I'm sure my sister-in-law was melting, cause she was sweating so hard, she was wet. And her makeup must have been waterproof. It was good though to see family members who turned up; people I hadn't seen for many years. Doesn't mean I talked to any of them though!



I wandered around the food area for a little while, and there I found out there was a bit of a lip between one cement slab and the other. Just as well I was wearing thongs! I ALMOST went face down. But having experience at falling over, I saved myself from a most embarassing incident.

I managed to convince MOTH that we had stayed long enough and we all needed to get back to the aircon in the cabin. There was a small amount of time to cool down before we ran off to my dad's function.

Cough Lolly had arranged to have it at one of the local pubs. But the Function Room, and I use that term loosely, wasn't airconditioned. It was soooo hot! Again. The cost of the meals was expensive, but I really, really enjoyed mine. The steak was so tender and melt in the mouth. The Teen ordered chicken nuggets from the kids menu. They were cold.

There were plenty of my rellies about for this do as well. And a lot of them I hadn't seen for a long time either.



It was moderately cooler outside, in the dark. I wandered out and found it was the smokers hangout. I nearly always manage to find those. MOTH used to say I was too scabby to buy my own and had to breathe everyone elses. There was only one smoker. And we chatted. While out there, MOTH came to join us. And for some reason, to prove a point, he did his rolly polly act. Or should I say, he bounced me off his belly. And bounce I did. It's like bouncing off a solid rubber wall. I went flying. The Elder was standing behind me, and I had the joy of tripping over her as well. And I landed flat on my butt! Plenty of padding, but I think it's still sore. *rubs butt cheeks*

I tried to talk MOTH into leaving. But by the time you get to say goodbye to everyone, an hour has gone by. There was thunder and lightening rolling around the sky when everyone finally decided to leave. And we didn't even make it out to the car when it all came down. And as we hit the highway back to the park, it got heavier. We drove into the rain, and it looked like the windows vortex screensaver. And visibility was down to a few meters. By the time we reached the park, MOTH wasn't sure where the road ended and the rain began.

We parked outside the cabin and debated the merits of making a dash for it. MOTH was gamest and went first to unlock. He handed the car keys to the Elder, making it plain she was last so she could lock up. Lucky last. The Teen announced that she 'was doing this' and out she dived. I followed not long after. While mopping myself up, MOTH asked if I had been told what happened. No, I haven't. The Teen apparently dived up the stairs and around the corner. And straight into the closed glass door. Wish I'd had a camera. That could have won me some moneys, oh yes. *nods*

Sunday we wasted time at the shops. It's Christmas time, and that backwoods has Sunday shopping. Whoo hoo! What a metropolis!

Monday we took a quick tour of the laundry. I had to wash, and lo! As usual I was unprepared and didn't have change for the machines. I sent MOTH to find some. Because, again, I'm generous.

I got a wash load done, and dried. Chased the kids up. Got the car packed. Emptied the rubbish bins. Returned the keys. Filled the car. Stocked up on drinks. And we were off on the trek home.

And we made it. Finally. And the boyos had even kept the place clean for us. *is proud*